Returned
by smexichic587
Summary: Peeta tells Katniss he loves her. Will she feel the same way? Or better yet, will she be able to tell him how she feels?
1. Chapter 1

**Returned**

**Normal POV**

Peeta's hands shook as he walked to Katniss' room on the train. He could hear her screams and knew she was in the middle of a nightmare; probably about president Snow and her family. When he arrived at her door, he hesitated before going in. _What he she pushes me away? _Peeta thought as sadness enveloped his heart. Katniss was not exactly the most open person, and Peeta had been trying to change that for sometime now. Not in a bad way, he just wanted her to talk to him. _One... two... time to go in... three. _He opened the door as she let out a shriek.

"Katniss!" Peeta rushed to her bedside. "Katniss, wake up! It's me, Peeta. I'm here, Katniss," he said softly in his kind voice.

"Peeta? Peeta, your here," she beamed happily.

"Yeah, I am," he assured the scared girl laying in front of him.

He took off his shoes and lay in the bed next to her. _What's on her mind? _Peeta wondered as she looked into his blue eyes.

"I love you," Peeta said quietly, yet confidently, as if he knew what he was saying and how it would urge her to say it back.

**Katniss' POV**

_What is he doing? How can he expect me to know my response to this statement? Does he want me to say it back? Of course he does... _

"I..." Katniss didn't know what to say. Instead, she leaned forward, and gently kissed his soft lips. They tasted of mint, most likely from his tooth paste. When the kiss ended, he looked into her gray eyes. "I love you, too." And she knew that it wasn't just something she was staying to make him feel worthwhile. She really did love him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Afraid**

Peeta's POV

I wake up next to Katniss who is asleep. _Did she mean what she said last night?_ I wonder to myself. _Should I say it again? _My hands were getting all sweaty, so I got up and went to my room. I needed to think.

Katniss' POV

_Where is he? Did he leave? Maybe he was hungry. Or scared. Scared of me... What have I done? _Questions race through my mind when I wake up and Peeta has left no trace of being here. His side of the bed is made up. _I scared him off, what is wrong with me? _I get up and take a shower to calm myself down from the feelings of regret rushing through me. The water is warm, but not hot as it drenches my body. I am too weak to scrub myself, so I just stand. And think. _I must have done something horribly wrong if it pushed Peeta away. He's so sweet; nothing makes him turn his back. There isn't anything I can think of that would bring him to leaving me in the dead of the night..._

"Katniss," Peeta calls as he walks through my unlocked door.

"I'm in the shower Peeta," I reply, overjoyed that he came back.

"Uh... Sorry for leaving early this morning," he was glad she couldn't see his face.

"No problem, I needed a shower anyway," she assured him.

"Me too. That's why I left; had to get cleaned up before breakfast," he said. Although it was true, he did take a shower, he felt like he was lying through his teeth. He really left to get away from the feelings he was having. They couldn't both win. She couldn't lose. She had to get to her family. He would help her until it was down to them, and finish himself off. His plan was not going to be revealed to her though.


	3. Chapter 3

**Realize**

Normal POV

It was breakfast time. Peeta and Katniss sat next to each other, happily awaiting being served. The smell of sausage filled the air as the first course was rolled in by the redheaded Avoxes. Silently, they put heaping amounts on each person's flowery plate. Peeta, who had his on the edge dropped his on accident. He felt embarrassed as he knelt down to pick up his wasted food from the hardwood floor.

"Peeta, do get off the floor," Effie said loudy in a tone that insisted that picking up his mess was beneath him. "Let them do their job!"

"They didn't drop the food, I did," he countered, annoyed with how uptight she was being. "It's my mess; let me handle it."

"Fine. But don't blame me if your hands get dirty," she scoffed.

Without words, Peeta continued picking up his food. When he was finished, Haymitch decided to join them.

"Good morning, ladies," his words were slurred. He walked over to the alcohol cabinet, and took out a bottle of silver rum. "How 'bout a toast? … No one? … Fine."

"What's to toast to? We are being taken away from our families, our friends, and our lives. So tell me, Haymitch, what the hell do you want to celebrate?" Peeta frightened the whole room.

"Why don't you sit down?" Effie asked when Peeta rose from his chair.

"I'm fine," he chuckled. He walked over to Haymitch who lay in the middle of the floor, drunk and upset that Peeta had gotten angry. "I'm fine, we're all fine. … Until we go into the arena. Against our will. To fight to the death with people who may be trained better. And even if we are the lucky two in the end," he looked at Katniss, "Only one of us can win."

His words brought the room to the realization that they had been avoiding the entire trip.


End file.
